Chapter 11 - The Fall into Silence
Arthur’s hand slipped off her wet skin.
"ELEANOR!"
He watched in helpless, frozen horror as her white-clad figure fell backward into the dark, rain-swept void.
She did not scream. She did not flinch. She fell gracefully, her blonde hair trailing behind her like a pale shroud, tumbling down into the darkness until she was swallowed completely by the white, churning foam of the violent Atlantic waves below.
There was no sound of impact over the roar of the storm. Only the eternal, deafening crash of the sea against the ancient granite.
Arthur lay flat on his stomach in the mud at the cliff's edge for a long, unmeasured time. The cold rain beat down on his back, washing the dirt and blood from his clothes, but he felt entirely hollowed out, as if the wind had stripped away everything inside him.
Slowly, painfully, he pushed himself up from the ground. His suit was ruined, his hands bleeding, his ribs aching with every breath he took.
He turned around and looked back toward the estate.
Blackwood Manor was now entirely engulfed in a towering inferno. The roof had collapsed inward, sending a brilliant, roaring column of orange sparks and golden flames high into the storm-blackened night sky. The grand windows were hollow eyes of pure fire, illuminating the dark grounds in a blinding, apocalyptic glow.
Standing at the edge of the driveway, far from the heat of the blaze, were Maria, Clara, and Lily.
May you like
They were huddled together under a thick wool blanket that Maria had pulled from the car, watching the destruction of their home in silence.
Arthur walked back to them, his boots dragging through the mud, his head bowed against the storm.
